Last year, sophomore Jack Fischer set out to see how Binghamton University stacked up against other schools in terms of New York Times coverage. Tracking the mentions, Fischer found BU and other public schools were referenced significantly less often than private schools of the same academic caliber. Fischer’s study confirmed what many of us thought: A BU degree lacks the prestige necessary to garner the same attention as our peers paying for private school. A BU education endows us with the skills to compete, but lack of name recognition can handicap even the most qualified candidate. The blame for this lack of coverage falls on the New York Times, the University and us. Instead of lamenting our unknown status, let’s give them something to talk about.
In the past decade, BU, when mentioned, received primarily negative attention from the national media, most notably for an embarrassing sports scandal, reports of violent hazing and inclusion on a list of schools under a Title IX investigation for mishandling sexual assault. Students and faculty know BU is far more than the sum of these headlines, but the fact is that bad press attracted more attention than any of BU’s other, more lucrative selling points. Clearly, not all attention is good attention. Binghamton University faculty have done some fascinating and groundbreaking research; it would be nice if big papers like the Times paid attention to these achievements as well.
Part of the problem is the way in which the University sells itself. We need to focus more attention on substance and less on flashy, cheap ploys in University marketing materials. We get it, D-list celebrities like Billy Baldwin and Flo from the Progressive commercials graduated from Binghamton University. It’s wonderful that they’ve both found success in their respective fields, but parading these two recognizable names and faces around does not change anyone’s mind about the academic reputation of this school. Instead of relying on gimmicks, we should be touting national leaders like Thomas Secunda, the co-founder and vice chairman of Bloomberg L.P.; Amy Dacey, the CEO of the Democratic National Committee; or Hakeem Jeffries, the congressman representing parts of Brooklyn and Queens as the face of our alumni. Alumni like these demonstrate that BU graduates are capable of rising to the top of their fields, not landing commercial spots.
Cultivating a national reputation requires taking the recruitment of out-of-state students seriously. The in-state to out-of-state ratio is high, and it feels like the majority of out-of state students come from the Northeast, and students from the West or South are hard to find on campus. Nationally renowned public universities like Ohio State aren’t necessarily better than BU, but they’re frequently mentioned in national discussions because of the geographical diversity of the student body.
We have a lot to offer out-of-state students in the way of price, as out-of-state tuition is significantly more affordable than private colleges and even other public universities. However, this isn’t enough to draw the top students from around the country. The University’s marketing materials targeted at out-of-state students are far from compelling. Its list of “Top 10 Reasons Out-of-State Students Choose Binghamton” cites “spiedies,” “weekend trips to New York City” and that it “has four seasons,” but fails to mention the academic reputation of the school in any shape or form.
It’s easy to criticize the University for failing to put BU on the map, but BU students and graduates are equally responsible for establishing name recognition. Students complain about a lack of notable alumni. Instead of complaining, take the lack of big names as a challenge. In the vacuum for famous, truly influential alumni, a spot has been left for all of us to fill. The bar is low. At this point, any of us could become Binghamton University’s most famous and important almuna or alumnus. At the end of the day, it’s not about what university you put on your resume, but becoming the student that universities want to put on theirs.